Redemption
by Lost Vanity
Summary: The Goddess can be many things. She can be the Goddess of love, the Goddess of beauty, the Goddess of death, the Goddess of Mercy. She is a myth, a mystery. No one knows who she is and how she came to exist. If she even exists. She can be all things and none. Now she is the Goddess of Revenge. Post TWS. M for violence and language.
1. Prologue

**A/N: So I decided to repost this because I made some revisions to it. I hope you guys like it and I really hope you guys give it a chance because I'm so excited for it. I have big plans for it. So please, be kind, review and let me know what you think. **

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><p>Hydra has fallen.<p>

Pierce is dead.

That was all the tall slender female needed to hear before she set down her sniper rifle. Smirking, she took off her earpiece and dropped it to the ground before crushing it with her foot. She looked up at the glaring sun before she blocked it with her hand. Now was her time to make a move. Hydra was crumbling. She was free from their grasp. The best time to hit them was when they were scrambling to find a new chain of command.

Damscus was hot. Syria was on the verge of a civil war. With the right push and the right people dead, Syria would become a warring state and that was what The Goddess was sent to do. Killing the President of Syria would create even more tension with the rebel army and the government. This was what Hydra sent her to do.

But Hydra has fallen. There was no need for her to carry out her mission anymore. Hydra would be too busy scrambling for whatever they had left to realize that The Goddess has gone rogue. She was no longer a tool for Hydra.

Picking up her sniper rifle when she saw movement at the front of the hotel across from the roof she was in, The Goddess looked through the lends of her Barrett M107. She followed the President exit through the front, talking to one of his men just outside his car. Her trigger finger hovered over the trigger, tempted to just push. He was an easy target, talking and laughing so freely while the barrel of her gun was pointed at him. Two seconds was all it took to end one life, start a civil war and kill millions. Two seconds to tear families apart and turn children into child soldiers.

Human lives were fragile. They were nothing but pawns. They were the Goddess' plaything.

Letting out a cold laugh, The Goddess dropped the sniper rifle. Starting a civil war was no longer her problem. Killing the man was pointless to her now. No, her mission was different now. The only bodies that will be dropping were Hydra bodies. She's out for revenge and she wants every Hydra member to know that she will stop at nothing to bring them down.

The Goddess was taking no prisoners. If she had to spend a lifetime cutting off all of Hydra's heads she was more than prepared to do so. After all, it was Hydra that showed her how to bring down even the most powerful organizations with ease.

Pulling out her small laptop, the blonde then typed out _kill confirmed_, before she then broke the laptop to ensure that she would not be tracked. Hydra taught her how to be a ghost. How to disappear without a trace. To exist only when needed to exist. They taught her how to kill without mercy, without any hesitance. Hydra taught her how to kill with ease and with a clear conscience and now she was going to make Hydra regret it.

The Goddess was out for revenge.


	2. Chapter 1: Diana

**Three months after Hydra's fall**

Finishing the last of her work, Diana sighed and turned off her computer. It had been a long day at work and she wanted nothing more than to go home and just crash on her bed. Looking up when she finally saw someone approach her desk, she smiled when she saw her boss, Tony Stark, briskly walking towards her. "Hello Mr. Stark," she greeted him.

Shaking his head, Tony sighed before smirking at her and stopping at her desk. "We're talked about this Diana. It's Tony. We have too much of a close relationship for you to be calling me Mr. Stark."

Playfully rolling her eyes, Diana just gave out a small laugh. "What can I do for you Tony?"

"I'm having some friends over, when the receptionist downstairs calls, can you meet them and tell them where to go?"

Raising a brow at Tony, Diana instantly knew what he meant by friends. It was rare for Tony to really have any friends. Most of his friends were either Happy or James Rhodes so friends meant the recently minted Avengers. "And by friends you mean the Avengers right?" she asked in a teasing tone as she leaned in closer to him.

"You're welcome to join us if you'd like."

"I could never, it's a super secret Avengers meeting," Diana said, teasing her boss a little.

"Pepper's going to be there! As your boss I expect you to be there!" he said, pointing at her was he then walked into his office to grab a few things and walked into his elevator. Diana assumed he would be heading up to the top floor.

Rubbing the back of her neck, the brunette took a deep breath and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. Shaking her head at her boss' antics, she then started to finish a few more things. Since Pepper became the new CEO of Stark Industries, Tony's had a habit of burning through secretaries and personal assistants and having worked for Tony for only two months, Diana can understand why.

Just as she was packing her things, her phone then rang. Answering it, she then spoke to the receptionist for a moment before telling her that she would meet them before hanging up. Gathering her bag and fixing her pencil skirt, Diana then made her way to the elevator.

Having been Tony's personal assistant for two months now, Diana had met a few of the Avengers occasionally. They would often walk in and out of the "Avengers" tower as the media dubbed it, but for Diana it was just work. Meeting them didn't leave her awestruck all that much anymore, the only time it really did was when they would display their capabilities.

A smile instantly appeared on her face when she saw Bruce Banner waiting in front of the receptionist and behind him were Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Thor and Captain America himself. Bruce was whom she was most familiar with as he was often with Tony doing some scientific things.

"Bruce, how are you?" she asked, walking up to the group, her heels clicking against the marble floor. Turning to the ones behind him, she noticed that there was man she was rather unfamiliar with beside Steve Rogers. He had messy dark brown hair and he was as tall as Steve. Diana greeted the rest with a warm smile and a small wave.

Bruce timidly greeted her, walking up to her and giving her a small hug. Since he moved out of Stark Towers, he hadn't seen Diana all that much considering he was mostly locked in the science division of Stark Towers.

"Hi Diana, Tony invited us over."

"Yes, his majesty wanted me to bring you guys there," she spoke in a teasing manner, often referring to Tony as his majesty whenever she was talking to Bruce and looking to make fun of Tony. Diana then turned her attention to the receptionist. "Jamie, you can go now. Thank you for letting me know they arrived."

"I take it, you seeing us here is one of Tony's attempts at getting you to join us."

Diana laughed at what Bruce said. "Well, he doesn't try to hide it anymore," she mumbled and smiled at everyone else. "It's good to meet you all," Diana said before casting her gaze at Steve Rogers and the unnamed man.

"Right, you haven't met Steve. Diana, this is-" Bruce started before Diana interrupted him.

"Steve Rogers," she said before outstretching her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet the famed Captain America. You were all over the news a few months back," Diana pointed out. "That and my grandmother was a huge fan of you way back when. She would tell me stories about how she went to one of your shows and thought you were pretty amazing."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Steve smiled at her sheepishly before nodding her head. "Pleasure to meet you ma'am."

"Please, call me Diana." Turning her gaze to the man beside Steve, she looked at him a little more closely. He seemed so unsure of himself as he looked down at his shoes. The man looked a little lost.

"Right, this is Bucky. Bucky Barnes… a friend of mine," Steve introduced the two, trying to keep the fact that his friend was also the one that tried to kill him and had been a part of Hydra.

Nodding her head, she gave Bucky a warm smile, knowing full well who he was. She had read the files that Natasha had leaked and she saw the news. "It's a pleasure to meet you then," she said, her eyes lingering for a moment on his arm. Even though the jacket he wore hid it, Diana knew what it was. "If you'll all follow me." Turning, she then led the group to the elevator.

Once they all fit in, Diana pushed the button that led to the top floor and waited patiently. As the door finally opened, she stepped out of the elevator and looked around for Tony. "Jarvis, could you let Tony know that his friends have arrived," she called out.

"Of course Ms. Reed," the voice answered.

It wasn't long until Pepper stepped out of one of the rooms and happily greeted them. "Diana, are you joining us?" she asked, hugging the woman and saying hello to everyone else.

Contemplating it for a moment, Diana wasn't sure. It felt inappropriate to be drinking and hanging out with someone who signed her paycheck, even if Tony and Pepper had been trying their hardest to get her to join one of their get togethers. "Oh… I don't know."

"Nonsense, you should join us in this celebration Diana," Thor said, grinning at her and moving closer to her.

"I guess if the mighty Thor says so," Diana agreed with a small giggle.

"Diana, good to see you're finally joining my little shindig," Tony said as he came out of the same room Pepper had just come out of. Immediately, his eyes went to the man that was beside Steve and walked over to him. "Hi, we haven't met but I know a lot about you, even helped Capsicle try to find you. I'm really interested to see your arm. Can I see it?"

Stepping closer to Tony, Diana rolled her eyes and sighed. "Manners Tony, at least buy him dinner," she muttered, setting her bag down on the chair and giving Bucky a small smile, noticing how uncomfortable he looked and the way he tensed.

Tony pouted and followed Diana. "Please mom? I need to see his arm."

Diana just shook her head and thanked Pepper when she handed her a drink. "I'm sorry you're stuck with such a child," Diana teased her friend, earning her a short laugh from the redhead.

It wasn't long until everyone eased into conversations with each other, talking about their latest adventure, who they had to save, Thor, talking about what he had to do in Asgard. Steve also talked about what he had been doing for the last three months (which was trying to find Bucky) and what they had been doing since he found Bucky. Diana didn't have much to say, so she just kept to herself, smiling politely when someone asked her a question. Excusing herself, she then made her way to the bar to pour herself another drink.

It took her awhile to realize that she wasn't the only one at the bar. Noticing that Bucky was there as well, Diana debated weather she should start a conversation with him. "Not enjoying yourself?"

Bucky's movements were a little slow. It took him awhile to turn to her and shake his head. "Just… feel out of place," he muttered quietly.

Giving him a sympathetic look, Diana could only imagine what it was like for him to be in a different time with no memories. Narrowing her eyes a little when he continued to stare at her as if he was looking for something, she smiled nervously, wondering what it was that made him stare at her so intently. "Is there something on my face?"

Slowly, Bucky shook his head and turned back to his drink. "Sorry, it's just… you look familiar."

"I guess I just have one of those faces you see all the time." Diana laughed it off and took another sip of her drink, shaking her head. "How… does it feel being back in New York? Have you remembered anything?" Diana asked curiously.

"A few things," he muttered, to which Diana tensed at.

"Like?"

Looking at the woman again, he shrugged his shoulder. "I guess some of New York. Bits and pieces of Steve," he admitted.

Hearing Steve call for Bucky, Diana smiled and looked back at where Tony, Bruce and Steve sat. "I think they're calling you," she said and went back to Pepper and Natasha.

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><p><strong>AN: I hoped you guys liked that. I promise you, this story is going to start picking up. Please do review and let me know what you all think!**


	3. Chapter 2: Hostage

**A/N: It's nice seeing some of you guys enjoying my story by favouriting it and all that. Thank you for that. Please don't forget to review and let me know what you actually think of the story! Enjoy this chapter. I had it written faster than I anticipated.**

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><p><em>"Kill him," the man ordered as he leaned in to whisper in her ear.<em>

_A girl no older than twelve looked at the man in front of her, sitting from across the table. He had a bag over his head and she could tell that he was whimpering but the girl didn't care. She glanced at the gun that lay in front of her before looking back at the man._

_"Are you a soldier or are you not Fourteen?" the man asked in her ear from behind her. "I gave you a direct order Fourteen. Kill him."_

_The girl's hand twitched as she heard the man whimper again. She was tempted to just take the gun and shook the man. The man behind her sighed and stood straighter, before nodding to a man in a white coat._

_"Mr. Pierce, a-are you sure?" the man in the white coat stuttered, looking over at the little girl that stood fierce and stoic, glaring at the man across from her. Alexander Pierce did nothing but glare at him, causing the man in the white coat to scurry towards the man in the table and pull of the sack on his head._

_"You are going to watch as you put a bullet in his head," Pierce said angrily to the little girl before taking the gun from his waist and placed the barrel of the gun against the little girl's temple. "Kill him or I kill you."_

_"Please, please don't do this," the man begged, looking at the little girl, tears streaming down his face as his whole body trembled. "Please. I have a family. M-my daughter, she was just born."_

_The little girl then calmly turned her head to look at Alexander Pierce, the gun shifting so that it was now pressed against her forehead. She glared at him and picked up the gun on the table. She ignored the man whimpering, and lifted up the gun. Swiftly, she shot the man between the eyes, her own never once leaving Pierce before putting the gun back down. The man's body fell to the table with a thud._

_Alexander Pierce smiled at the little girl before putting his gun back on his holster. "Good, now suit up and meet with The Winter Solider, you're going to kill that man's family and he's going to oversee."_

_Ignoring everything he was saying, the little girl turned her attention back at the dead man, his blood starting to seep from the bullet wound in his head. Her hand twitched again. She felt nothing as she stared at the life she just ended._

Yawning, Diana rubbed her eyes as she tried to stay awake. Taking a sip of her coffee, she looked at her watch again and grumbled when she realized that she was running late. The last thing she wanted was for Tony to tease her for running late. It was unlike her and she already knew that her boss would tease her relentlessly for whatever mistake she would make.

Taking another step when the line moved up a little, she looked to her side and smiled when she saw a familiar blond, a brunette beside the man. "Steve?" she asked, trying to get the man's attention.

It had been almost a week since she last saw Steve, at Tony's little Avengers get together. Although she hadn't seen him since then, she knew that she would be meeting him today, as Tony couldn't stop bragging about getting to play with Bucky's arm and Diana was the one to book off today on Tony's schedule to meet with him.

Talking with Bucky, Steve stopped mid-sentence when he heard someone call his name. Seeing the beautiful brunette he met when he visited Tony, Steve smiled charmingly at the woman. "Diana, how are you?" he asked.

Cheering up a little, her smile turned into a full out grin. "I'm good. I'm good. For a second there I was worried that I got the wrong person," she said with a small giggle before turning to Bucky. "Hi Bucky!"

Bucky just nodded at her stoically before looking around the bank.

Before Diana could say anything three men walked in, one shooting up the ceiling. The people in the bank then started to panic. Diana's eyes widened, but before she could react, Steve was pulling her close to him and directed her towards the desk. Her heart started to race and Diana looked at Steve in a panic, noticing that Bucky wasn't with him.

Knowing that he needed to get to Bucky did something that could endanger the people in the bank, Steve knew he had to act fast. If lives weren't at stake, Steve would have been okay with Bucky doing what needed to be done to stop these people. Even though he trusted Bucky with his life, Steve couldn't trust him with other peoples' lives because he was still trained by Hydra.

"What's happening?" Diana asked, panic evident in her voice.

Steve looked at Diana before he then started to look for Bucky. She could tell that he was examining everything before looking back at her. "Stay where you are," he said to her in a whisper before crouching and moving to where Bucky was.

"This is a hold up!" one of the men dressed in black said. "Everyone to the fucking ground or we shoot!" he yelled again. Women then started to whimper.

The other man held his gun as he way towards the bank teller. "Give me the fucking money. Where's the manager? We're getting into that safe."

The third man walked the line of people, who's backs were pressed against the counter and smirked at them, pointing his gun at them. They all whimpered at they stared at the end of the gun, women crying. The man then stopped in front of Diana, when he noticed that she didn't even flinch. Narrowing his eyes at her, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up. Noticing two men about to make a move from the corner of his eyes, the man then pressed his gun against Diana's temple. "Don't be a hero," he warned the two men.

Seeing one of the bank robbers making his way towards Diana, Steve instantly regretted leaving her alone. He should have brought her with him. At least she would have been safe between him and Bucky. Steve tensed when the man grabbed Diana. About to make his move, Steve taking note that Bucky was moving to stop the man as well, they both stopped when the man pressed his gun against Diana's head.

"Any body that dares to make a move, this lady's going to have a bullet in her head," he announced, looking around for a moment before keeping his eyes on the two men at the corner. Looking to his friends, he nodded at them and watched as they disappeared to the back. "You are beautiful," he whispered, using his gun to caress Diana's neck.

Glaring, Diana closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing. She was not going to give this man the satisfaction of knowing how afraid she was. Her hand twitched as she tried to move her neck away from his gun. "Don't touch me," she whispered, her voice trembling a little. Looking over at Steve and Bucky, she gave them a pleading look before steeling herself.

Her eyes started to move, letting Steve know that she was planning something to make sure that he would react when she needed him too. Steve tried to warn her not to, knowing that it would get her killed, but she ignored the looks he was giving her.

Leaning in, the man then grabbed some of her hair and smelled it before leaning in, the barrel of his gun caressing her chest.

"You're going to regret doing that," Diana muttered, making the man laugh. As soon as he did, Diana moved, stepping on his foot, making him groan.

It was then Steve and Bucky made a move. The man, in his anger, took his fun and slapped her on the face with it, making Diana stumble backwards. Before she could hit the ground though, she felt a pair of arms grabbing her by the waist. Looking up, Diana's eyes widened when she saw Bucky having caught her.

Diana's eyes widened when the man lifted his weapon, about to shoot her. She closed her eyes, scared that the bullet was going hit her, Diana's eyes opened when she heard a clang. Standing there a little shocked when she noticed Bucky's arm in front of her, she realized that he had saved her and took the bullet for her.

Focused on Bucky, Diana nearly forgot about Steve until he took down the man. A little stunned, Diana knew that Steve would need Bucky to back him up. "Go, I'll be okay," she tried to reassure Bucky.

Bucky just looked at Diana for a moment before nodding his head and releasing his grip on Ana before making his way towards Steve to capture the last two men. Looking back at Diana for a moment, she smiled at Bucky before he turned and followed Steve to the back.

Making sure that the man Steve dealt with was unconscious, Diana then started to gather the petrified people, telling them to keep their hands up as they exited the building so the police knew that they were civilians. Looking back at where Steve and Bucky disappeared to, Diana lifted her arms and placed them behind her back as she left the building as well.


	4. Chapter 3: Aftermath

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for the reviews, it really means a lot to me. Please do give more reviews, it would mean the world to me because I really want to know what you guys thing, if you're enjoying it and what I need to improve on. I have huge plans for this, a plot twist you guys would be dying to know about. So please do keep reviewing.**

**With that being said, does anyone have any clues on who Fourteen could be?**

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><p>Wringing her fingers together, Diana sighed as she sat on the bumper of the ambulance, wincing a little when medic touched her cheek. She could already feel the bruising. "I'm okay," she tried to reassure the man and kept her eyes on the entrance of the bank, waiting for Steve and Bucky to appear. Letting out a sigh of relief when she saw them appear, Diana stood up and watched as they handed the two robbers to the cops, the third one not far behind in the custody of another cop.<p>

About to go up to them, she stopped when she noticed reporters starting to come up to them, obviously already recognizing Steve as Captain America. Watching them, Diana noticed how uncomfortable Bucky looked with all the attention. Noticing him look her way, she gave him a comforting smile before sitting back down.

"Are you alright?" Diana heard someone ask her.

Looking up when she heard someone speak to her, she smiled when she saw Steve and Bucky in front of her. Diana nodded her head and smiled. "Yeah. At least now I have an excuse for being late for work huh?" Diana asked in a joking manner.

"You don't have to you know? I'm sure Tony will understand you taking the day off."

Diana shook her head and smiled at Steve, standing up. "It's fine. If I go home, I'll do nothing but think about how close I was to dying."

Steve paused for a moment and looked down at his shoes. "I'm sorry about leaving you alone. I shouldn't have."

Sighing, Diana placed a hand on his shoulder and made him look at her. "Steve, you didn't know. It's fine. I'm alive, we're alive." Running a hand through her hair, Diana smiled at the two friend, about to say something when she heard the sounds of cameras clicking. Her eyes widened when she saw reporters snapping pictures of them. Immediately, she turned and hid her face, hoping they wouldn't use pictures of her face in papers. "We should get going to Stark Towers. It's almost time for your appointment with Tony," Diana muttered.

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><p>"Mr. Stark, your 2 0'clock appointment is here," Diana announced, walking into the top floor of Stark Towers with Steve and Bucky behind her.<p>

Spotting Diana, Tony and Pepper rushed over to her with Pepper cupping both her cheeks and looking at the bruise on her cheek. The redhead's brows furrowed, distressed to see her friend injured. "Jesus Diana, we saw the news. We heard what happened. Are you okay? You should have taken the day off."

Diana just smiled at Pepper and took a small step back. "I'm fine Pepper, I'm fine. I can work."

"Look at her, she's a fighter," Tony said before leading Bucky and Steve through another door where his lab was. "Diana follow me as well."

Shrugging her shoulder, she followed Tony through the doors and said goodbye to Pepper. Running a hand through her shoulder length brown hair, Diana sat down on one of the chairs and waited to see what Tony wanted with her. Placing her hand on her cheek, she touched it gingerly before taking a notepad out of her purse.

"I need you to take notes while I play with Sergeant Barnes' arm," Tony said playfully, making Diana furrow her brows.

"Don't you have Jarvis for that?"

After a couple of hours of watching Tony play around with Bucky's arm, Diana noticed Bucky starting to get uncomfortable as he gritted his teeth and his right hand started to shake.

"Um, Tony, maybe we should take a small break," she muttered and tried to discreetly nod at Bucky who still sat in silence looking uncomfortable. "I'm sure sitting for two hours being poked at isn't exciting."

Tony looked at Bucky for a moment then at Steve and nodded his head. "Fine, I was thinking about Shwarma anyways," he muttered and pushed his chair back a little and stood up. "Let's go Capisicle."

Nodding his head, Steve followed before stopping at the door when he realized Bucky wasn't following him. "Buck you coming?" Bucky just shook his head and remained seated in his chair.

Gathering her things, Diana stood up and noticed that they were alone. Looking at Bucky, Diana noticed that he was still sitting rather tense, his hand balled into a fist to the point where his knuckles were turning white. Slowly and carefully, the brunette sat down on Tony's chair and moved a little closer to him.

"Are you okay?"

Looking up at Diana slowly, Bucky just gave her a small smile and nodded his head. "Yeah. Are you?" he asked, eyeing the bruise that was now forming on her cheek.

Diana instantly got what he meant and gingerly touched the bruise before wincing. "I'll be fine," she reassured him. "Thank you for saving my life. I never got a chance to thank you."

Looking at her somewhat surprised, it was new for Bucky hearing someone thank him for a good deed, granted he hadn't done much good deed, no one really thanked him. It was a new feeling. A feeling he rather liked.

"Must be hard huh? Feeling so out of place in the world and all," Diana said, trying to start a conversation with him. She wanted to know more about him. For some reason he interested her, not to mention his Winter Soldier persona, it was enticing. She wanted to pick his brain more about it and it didn't help that he was rather attractive. "There's this place just two blocks from here and they make the most amazing pizza. I should take you there one time."

Bucky looked at the woman in front of him a little wide-eyed. There was no way someone was gorgeous as her could be asking her out or insinuating that she wanted to spend more time with him. The old Bucky, sure. The charming and suave Bucky who had no problems getting a girl, maybe, but this Bucky was damaged and dangerous. There was no way she would be asking him out on a date.

Blushing when Diana realized what she had just insinuated with her question, she bit her bottom lip and tried to think of a way to recover. "I-I mean, only if you want to. No pressure. We could go there during one of your sessions with Tony and on a lunch break," she muttered and tried to look at anything but him.

Nodding slowly, Bucky looked at her and gave her a small smile. "Yeah, it would be nice to get away for awhile," he agreed, feeling a little hopeful about everything. Between finding his best friend again, regaining some of his memories and now being able to somewhat function as a normal human being and not just the Winter Soldier, Bucky couldn't help but relax again. Things were looking up and he finally had a date.

Diana looked excited and happy when he agreed. "Tomorrow at twelve then!"

_At the age of twelve, Fourteen had become rather proficient in hand-to-hand combat. Her, like the five other girls, were proficient in hand-to-hand combat. It was only natural that they would be, they were after all designed to be the next generation of weapons Hydra would use._

_Sweating and huffing, Fourteen looked at the man, her opponent, menacingly. He had been getting the best of her for over an hour now and she was getting tired of his games. The way that he was moving, she knew that he didn't view her as some sort of threat and that angered her. She wasn't just some child. Fourteen was the best of the best. She knew she could take down more than half the people in Hydra._

_Out of the five other girls, Fourteen was the only one that had the privilege to be mentored by the Winter Soldier. In Hydra he was a legend. Everyone wanted to be trained by him but at the same time, everyone feared him. At the beginning, Fourteen was scared to fight him, but knowing now that his orders were not to kill her, she was every bit determined to prove she was better than him, even if it meant breaking bones._

_"You're too slow," the man said in Russian, making Fourteen narrow her eyes at him. "You think too much. This should be casual to you," he said, egging her even more._

_Glaring at him, Fourteen ran towards him, quickly and efficiently. Pulling her knife out of her holster, she then made a jab towards his side, which he evaded with ease. Smirking, Fourteen took another knife out when she was sure that he wasn't watching her free hand. As he moved right again, trying to evade her knife, Fourteen struck with her left hand but she was too slow, he quickly evaded that, moving and kicking the knife out of her hand._

_The Winter Soldier then picked up the knife from the floor as Fourteen stood grounded, glaring at him. He threw the knife right at her. There were a few gasps, but Fourteen didn't care. Before it could hit her dead in her forehead, she moved her head so that it just grazed her cheek._

_"Shut up and fight me," she cursed in Russian, moving into a fighting stance as he ran towards her. Every part of Fourteen's body was screaming to quit out of exhaustion but she didn't care. She was going to push her body until it broke. She was going to do whatever it took to beat her mentor._

_As he came at her, Fourteen steeled herself, mentally preparing herself for his oncoming attacks. He threw a punch at her, which she evaded with ease and countered with her knife, trying to take a jab at him. The Winter Soldier stopped the knife with his metal arm, grabbing it as if it was nothing. Blocking his next punch with her forearm, she dropped the knife to her other hand, catching it easily before swiping at him, nicking him in the side._

_Jumping back, the two were panting heavily as they glared at one another. Wiping the blood from her cheek, she watched the knife wound on his side bleed a little. Fourteen smirked. Assessing him, she knew that there was no way she was going to be able to take him down with brute force. No, he was much bigger than her. She had to use her body against him. She had to find tiny spaces where she could hit him in places where it would hurt._

_Running at him, she watched as he prepared himself. Doing something she knew he wouldn't expect, she slid between his legs, stopping just behind him and got up and wrapped her waist around him. Punching him on the side, she tried to get another punch in but he quickly grabbed her with his metal arm and tossing her to the ground. Once her back hit the ground, the wind was knocked out of her and for a moment, Fourteen could barely think. Before she could react, her eyes widened as she watched the Winter Soldier then take her left arm and twist it, breaking her wrist and dislocating her shoulder. She let out a scream._

_"Enough!" one of the spectators yelled._

_Obediently, the Winter Solider let go of her arm, and Fourteen withered in pain, clutching her wrist. Glaring at him, she tried to stand up. Once she finally got to stand up, she wiped the blood from her cheek, the wound no longer bleeding. She watched as the Winter Solider retreated until he was beside Alexander Pierce._

_"Get her cleaned up," Alexander Pierce ordered two men_

_Giving one of the men her arm, she then popped her shoulder back, biting her bottom lip at the stinging pain. It didn't compare though to her usual training sessions with the Winter Solider where he would break something. "Go away," she muttered to the two men that tried to clean the wound on her cheek. Looking at her wrist, Fourteen then watched as it started to heal._


	5. Chapter 4: The masked woman

**I'm so sorry this took so long. I got busier than I thought I would and it just took me forever to really sit down and write this and since it was such a long chapter and I wanted to get as much in as I could without putting anything into the next chapter, it took longer than I expected.**

**Anyways, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, followed and favourited my story, I hope that you guys continue to do so. Please, do let me know what you think. **

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><p>It was late in the night when Captain America jumped from one building to another quietly, Bucky following not far behind him. With Shield now rebuilding and Steve and Bucky on a personal vendetta to stop Hydra, the duo had been following the leads all over the world. They were lucky that one lead was right at their doorsteps.<p>

Since unearthing more of what Natasha leaked on Shield and Hydra, they learned something that hit close to home for Bucky. Hydra had a long running program called The Goddess Project. It was akin to the Soviet's Red Room Academy: the Black Widow Project. Only The Goddess Project was different. It had been dating back to the start of Hydra. Instead of several women becoming this titled Goddess, there was only one successor.

Fifteen girls were taken from all around the world and raised from birth to the day the new successor was picked. Their lives were spent in an undisclosed location. Bucky couldn't remember much of it although he said he did remember having taught girls how to fight. He remembered that their name was numbers instead of actual names. One number stuck to him in particular, a girl that went by the number Fourteen.

There was a map that leads to an underground location in some old dilapidated building in the Upper East Side. There was nothing for them to go on, just the address. It left Bucky feeling as if they were walking in blind and the Winter Solider part of him wasn't happy with it. Bucky though didn't care. He needed answers. He needed to know what happened to him and what Hydra did to him.

Nodding at Steve, Bucky swiftly and quietly jumped down the smaller building and broke the lock of the abandoned building with his metal hand. With trained eyes, he looked into the dark building, aware of his surroundings.

"Do you see anything Buck?" Steve asked in hushed whispers as he followed behind his friend.

Bucky shook his head and when he deemed it safe to look around, they soon separated to cover more ground. Willing himself to try and remember if he knew anything about this place, Bucky let out a small sigh and shook his head. There was nothing about this place that was familiar to him.

"Buck, I got something," Steve said, motioning for Bucky to the door he stood beside. Readying his weapon, Bucky pulled out his gun and nodded his head, letting his old friend know that he had his back. Carefully, Steve opened the door as quietly as he could. He knew that there was a possibility that Hydra already knew that they were around so he had to be alert.

Once the door was open, they were met with a dark staircase that led even further down. Turning to Bucky, he nodded his head and took point, his shield ready to take the blunt of any attack that might come. As they got descended down the stairs, there was an eerie feeling creeping up on Bucky. It was enough to make the hairs on his neck stand.

Everything about this was too easy. Since Hydra was exposed, it was hard to imagine it being this easy walking into their facility. From the haze of Bucky's memories, he knew that there was a degree of difficulty to at least get in. There had to be some guards or defense mechanisms that would stop them. They couldn't just stroll in as if they were going to the mall.

Furrowing his brow when Bucky noticed the door at the end of the stairs. It was emitting bright white lights through the cracks of the hinges. Preparing his metal arm, Bucky tensed it for a moment, hearing the soft clicks of his mechanical arm.

Readying himself when Steve opened the door, Bucky's eyes widened slightly at the sight of dead bodies littering the pristine white floor. There were blood splats on the walls and blood still dripping from the bodies. He could tell right away that these kills were fresh. Someone was still here.

"My god," he heard his friend gasp, his eyes wide at all the bodies. "Who could do this?"

Bucky leaned down and felt one of the bodies, pressing his finger against the man's pulse and took note that their bodies were still warm. "They're still warm. No more than a couple of hours." Standing up, the Winter Solider then put his finger on the trigger and held his gun up. "The person could still be here."

Nodding his head, Steve became even more alert as they proceeded forward, trying to avoid the bodies. There were at least ten bodies that littered the hallway and as they walked through another door, there were even more. Some shot in their desks, others shot as they tried to defend themselves.

Bucky had to wonder who could have done this. Was it Natasha when she found out about Hydra? Did she find out about them long before they did? Or was it someone else who had a personal grudge against Hydra they didn't know about?

"We should upload whatever information Hydra has," Steve mumbled once he found his words after he saw the massacre that happened.

Nodding his head, Bucky did as he was told, pulling out an USB from one of his pouches and walked over to one of the desks. Pushing aside the body that was slumped over on the desk, he booted up the computer and put the USB in.

"Tony, you're up," Steve said once he saw Bucky inserting the USB into the computer. He rolled his eyes when he heard his friend and teammate make some side comment about him.

"Please, please don't do this."

The voice alerting the two soldiers, Bucky immediately stood up and pointed his gun towards the voice. Nodding his head, Bucky took point and made his way towards another hallway. The voice then continued to plead with someone, making the two race towards them, hoping to save the survivor.

The two stopped dead in their tracks when they saw a beat up man tied to a chair, he was bleeding all over. Without any hesitation, Steve ran over to the man, asking him if he was okay. Pulling the rag in his mouth, the man looked at Steve frantic. Bucky stayed back a little, his gun still raised.

"You need to get out of here, it's a tra-" the man was cut short with a bullet to the head, his body slumping over.

Steve's eyes widened while Bucky, with faster reflex turned around, trying to find the person who shot the man. Eyes landing on a figure standing a few feet in front of them, a gun in her hand. Quickly pulling the trigger, the woman smirked as the glass doors slammed shut, separating Steve and Bucky from the woman.

Glaring at her, Bucky watched as the blonde walked closer to them with a kind of confidence that he couldn't shake off. She seemed so familiar to him. Eyeing her carefully, he gave her a once over. The woman wore a mask covering the top half of her face, only leaving her eyes. Her blonde hair cascaded down her back and her dark blue jumpsuit clinging to her body.

Steve stood up and faced the woman through the glass, glaring at her. "Did you do all this?" he asked, motioning to all the dead bodies that lay behind her.

The woman just smirked, almost teasingly. "I did," she said coolly, as if it was nothing.

"What do you want?" Steve asked slowly, his voice dangerous.

Leaning into the glass, the woman then pointed to Bucky, making Bucky glare harder at the woman. "Him."

Growling, Steve slammed his shield into the door but it didn't move, making the woman laugh. "You aren't taking him back. He's not some experiment."

The woman cocked her head to the side before laughing again. "Oh I don't want him exactly. He has something valuable to me. Locked in his memories is something I need to find something Hydra took from me."

"I don't remember anything," Bucky growled, glaring at the woman harder.

"You will remember, or else I start dropping bodies." Turning away from them slightly for a moment, she raised her gun and pointed it at a woman who was squirming to get away. "I'll start with her."

Steve moved forward as if trying to stop her. A gunshot and the woman's body dropping to the floor when she tried to run drowned his 'no'.

"Nine numbers," she stated. "I'll give you two weeks. If you don't come up with it, I'll start dropping bodies. Maybe I'll start with a Carter. I'll let you pick."

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><p>Yawning as Diana stood in front of Stark Towers, she checked her watch again, tempted to leave. She was supposed to have met Bucky in front of Stark Towers for their pizza date and she wanted to show him a more modern side of New York. Diana was sure that most of New York was spent with Steve showing him things, hoping to jog his memory and she wanted to give him a break from that.<p>

Shaking her head, she sighed and headed back into Stark Towers. Getting caught a little off guard when she saw Bucky about to exit. "Hey, I was beginning to think you stood me up," she playfully joked.

Bucky gave her a small smile and looked down at his shoes. "Sorry, Stark took longer than I thought he would."

Diana waved it off and smiled. "Come on, the Leone's Pizza is just down the street and it's a good day for a walk."

Walking side by side with Bucky, it just dawned on her who he really was. It was still a little surreal to her that this man was a World War II hero and the Winter Soldier, a deadly assassin that had been responsible for the assassinations of several political figures over the course how many decades. Even though she knew all that, for Diana, all she really saw was a broken man out of time and it pulled at her heartstrings.

Once they arrived at Leone's Pizza, she greeted the cashier and ordered for the two of them. "They make the best pepperoni pizza," she gushed and grinned, paying the cashier before Bucky could pull out his wallet. "I got this, after all, you did save my life." Smiling at Bucky brightly, Diana then lead them somewhere they could sit and sighed.

"So…" Diana trailed off, trying to break the silence between each other. "How are you liking New York so far?"

"It's… different. I don't recognize it all. Everything's easier though," Bucky admitted, making eye contact with Diana.

Something about her seemed so familiar, like he had seen her before but he couldn't exactly figure out where. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was just so easy feeling comfortable with her. With her, there was no pressure to be anything or do anything. As much as he was forever grateful for Steve helping him out with everything, every waking moment was this pressured feeling he needed to remember being Bucky Barnes again and that he was somehow disappointing Steve.

Diana listened carefully, hoping he would open up to her some more. "Do you… do you remember anything about your time with Hydra?" she wondered curiously, hoping that she didn't ask the wrong thing and that he wouldn't shut down on her.

Bucky looked at her a little surprised. Of all the things Steve and the Avengers asked him, this was something he had never really been asked before. "I remember pain, a lot of it. I remember a woman I saw a lot but I don't remember how she looked just that her eyes were always so cold."

Noticing the pained look in his expression, Diana instinctively reached over and grabbed his hands in a comforting way. "Hey, you don't have to try so hard. It's okay if you don't remember." Giving him a small smile, Diana pulled away when the waiter came with their pizza.

Bucky looked down at his hands a little surprised that he had grabbed it. Not only that but she also willingly held his metal one. Even if his glove covered it, she still held his metal arm was wasn't even afraid of it. For a moment, Bucky gave smiled softly at the girl. For the first time in a long time, someone made him feel normal.

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><p><strong>What do you guys think the woman wants? What do you think the numbers mean to her? What do you guys think of Diana and Bucky?<strong>


End file.
